American Family Physician

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Cochrane for Clinicians

Jul 1, 2015 - Based on low-quality evidence, levetiracetam was found to be ineffective for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain symptoms. Moreover, patients who were taking levetiracetam experienced adverse effects at a significantly higher rate than those who were taking placebo.

Apr 15, 2015 - ACE inhibitors and ARBs have similar effects on cardiovascular outcomes and total mortality in head-to-head trials. However, slightly more adverse effects were noted in patients assigned to ACE inhibitor therapy.

Jul 1, 2014 - Compared with placebo, antibiotics can shorten the duration of sore throat symptoms by about 16 hours and can reduce complications. In countries where the absolute rates of complications are higher, antibiotic therapy is more likely to be effective. The effectiveness of antibiotic ...

Jun 1, 2015 - Aclidinium did not decrease all-cause mortality or exacerbations requiring oral steroids, antibiotics, or both. However, aclidinium decreased the number of patients with exacerbations requiring hospitalization and improved quality of life in those with stable COPD.

Mar 1, 2015 - All combined oral contraceptives increase VTE risk. The risk is greater for those containing desogestrel, drospirenone, gestodene (not available in the United States), and cyproterone acetate (not available in the United States) when compared with levonorgestrel. All combined oral ...

Apr 1, 2015 - In adults with ADHD, immediate-release methylphenidate improves symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattentiveness compared with placebo. Short-term adverse effects such as weight loss and decreased appetite do not appear to be serious. However, larger studies of longer ...

Apr 1, 2015 - Magnesium sulfate does not delay delivery when used in patients with preterm labor. Although magnesium sulfate is not associated with any serious adverse maternal outcomes, it may be associated with an increase in total fetal, neonatal, and infant mortality.

Apr 15, 2015 - Low-quality evidence suggests that training health care professionals in patient-centered communication improves the engagement of patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in their health care. Interventions that were primarily educational appeared to be ineffective.

Oct 1, 2014 - LABAs appear to be safe when used with inhaled corticosteroids. LABA monotherapy is associated with an increase in asthma-related mortality and nonfatal serious adverse events, but not in all-cause mortality.

Dec 1, 2014 - When using proton pump inhibitor (PPI) triple therapy, increasing the duration of treatment from seven to 10 days or from 10 to 14 days significantly increases the eradication of H. pylori. When using other treatment regimens, it is unclear whether increasing duration of treatment ...

Feb 1, 2015 - At dosages greater than 2 mg per day, buprenorphine maintains treatment retention better than placebo. When flexible dosing (doses adjusted based on patient symptoms) is used, the effectiveness of buprenorphine is comparable to that of methadone in suppressing opioid use.

Nov 1, 2014 - Oral contraceptives are not an effective treatment for ovarian cysts, whether the cysts are spontaneous or associated with medically induced ovulation. Most cysts resolve without intervention within two to three months. Those that do not resolve in this time frame are more likely to be ...

Sep 1, 2014 - Compared with patients not treated with intranasal corticosteroids, those who receive them have greater improvement or resolution of symptoms at two to three weeks, regardless of whether antibiotics are used. In a single head-to-head study, patients taking intranasal corticosteroids ...

Aug 1, 2014 - CCBs are modestly effective at reducing the frequency of attacks of primary Raynaud phenomenon. There is no evidence that attack severity or physiologic measurements are reduced by CCBs. Treatment is associated with adverse effects such as headache, flushing, and edema.

Oct 1, 2014 - Trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are more effective than other therapies in reducing PTSD symptom severity up to four months after treatment, but more robust studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness.

Jun 1, 2014 - Continuous prophylactic antibiotic therapy significantly decreases COPD exacerbations for up to three years. However, it does not decrease mortality, and it puts the patient at risk of antibiotic-resistant colonization and infection.